Finding A Way
by DarkDannyHot
Summary: For three years, Edward Elric had to learn to live without the Colonel. But an unexprected run-in reopens some nasty wounds. Ed gets to know a new Roy, and hopes for love. But will this new Roy love him back? Alter!Roy/Ed
1. An Unexpected Sighting

**Hey there everyone! Heh-heh...I know I told some people this would be up sooner than it actually is but I kept forgetting! Anywho...it's here now!**

**Lemme just warn you...**

**WARNING: This is a Munich story meaning it takes place after the FMA movie. So if you haven't seen the whole series + the movie, it won't just make sense but you'll see spoilers galore!**

**...you have been warned. Another warning is that it's ROYED!! So if you DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ!!**

**Thanks for clicking this link, and I hope you enjoy this tale of love on the other side of the Gate!**

**Disclaimer: FMA belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. We'll just leave it at that.**

**--**

"Apples…check! Pears…check!" Brother looked up from his shopping list. "And Mr. Heinz was out of raspberries this week so…sorry Al."

"Aww!" I hung my head. "I guess I'll have to find a new favorite fruit this week."

"Oh come on!" Edward elbowed me. "It's not like it's the end of the world!"

I smiled at him. "What's next?"

"Oh, uh…potatoes."

It was a Sunday, farmer's market day. So Brother and I were picking up our weekly fruits and vegetables from the market set up in the center of Munich. We walked from cart to cart buying from everyone we usually did. Mrs. Volk, Mr. Haggen, the Igel family and Mr. Heinz, the man who grew the best raspberries in the world!

It had been three years since our reunion; Brother was now 21. We were living in an apartment together in Germany, but we had thought about moving to America a couple times. There were some bad things going on in Germany. People were talking about another war, and a new leader named Hitler who was the leader of the Nazis. Ed and I didn't like any of this talk. We'd heard horrible things about Hitler and the Nazi's plans. Things like they wanted to exterminate all of the Jews – even though very few really cared about this, Brother and I found it a shocking and horrific thought. It was Ishbal all over again! Well...not quite all over again seeing as this world hadn't had an Ishbalan War – and wanting to take over the world. It kind of scared me. But Brother told me nothing bad would happen to us. No, he _promised_. Ed was always talking about how this is our world now and we have to help out. After hearing about all the Nazi and war talk, I had asked him that if there were to be a war, would we fight for the Nazis? I must admit, I was a bit worried about his answer, but he said "No. We need to help our world for the better." So nobody worry; we're anti-Nazi. Well…enough history…

I gasped. "Oooh! Brother! Look! Kittens!" I bounced up and down, pointing at a circular fence with five kittens inside. I turned my bright, shining eyes towards him.

"Al, I already told you!" He wasn't looking at me. He had picked up a potato and was inspecting it. "We're not even considering the thought of getting a cat until I've finished school!"

Did I mention that Ed was in college? Yeah. He was attending the University of Munich. His major? Take a wild guess! …Yup, rocketry.

"I mean, we barely get along by ourselves!" He continued ranting about me not being able to get a cat. I stuck my lip out. "We just don't have the money for it right now. Maybe once I get a job…"

Now that's just an excuse. Edward had a job! He worked part-time at the library as a librarian. And he just happens to be a genius when it comes to the "Science History" section. You're probably wondering if I do anything here, right? Well…I'm still working on my German. So I can't do everything Ed can. I would go to school too, since a lot of Professors can speak English and a lot of students learn English there, but Dad only left enough money behind for Edward to go; which is fine by me. Edward's been here longer, plus he's the oldest. He's still got that whole "This is my burden" thing going on so I just say "Okay" and let him run off.

…Okay so I lied a bit. I do have a job. I just got it. It's not much but…I work in a flower shop. I don't really need to know much for that. I really only need to know the words "3 marks". Moving on…

"But it'll be a year until you're done with school…" I mumbled.

Edward whipped around; his pony tail following like it was in slow motion. "What'd you say?"

I jumped a bit from being startled. "Can't I just look at them?"

He sighed, sticking a couple potatoes in our basket and paying the seller. "Fine."

I clapped with glee.

"But I don't want any begging about keeping one! Got it?"

"Yes Brother!" I ran off towards the little kitten farm.

I knelt down on the ground and gazed at the adorable balls of fuzz. There was an orange one sleeping all by itself, a black one licking up some milk from a bowl, a gray and white one playing with each other by swiping their paws at one another, and a black one with patches of white, gray, and orange pawing at a ball of red yarn. I reached in and plucked the patched one out. He meowed in protest. "Hello cutie!" I said, scratching it's tummy with my index finger. He swatted at my hand and I giggled. "If I could keep you, I'd call you Patches." I scratched the top of his head, between his ears. He purred and rubbed his head into my hand. Still holding Patches, I turned to see where Ed had moved on to. I saw him over at Mrs. Volk's stand, looking at corn, probably the last of the season. I stood up and began walking over to him, planning on asking him if I could take home Patches even though he had just told me no. He grabbed a couple, dropped them in our basket and paid Mrs. Volk. She said "Thank you" and Edward nodded. He turned away from the stand. This was my chance! I started running, but stopped. Edward had frozen in place, like a statue. The basket fell from his hands.

"Nii-san…?" I took a step forward. Edward wasn't moving. "Nii-san!" I ran over to him. His face was frozen in shock. "Brother! What's wrong?! What happened?!" I gripped his shoulders.

"I…" He began, his voice a whisper. "I think I….I just saw…"

I waited for a name, but after a moment of silence and staring into my brother's eyes, I knew who he had seen. I picked up our food basket.

"C…Colonel…" Edward tried to say the name. _His_ name. Brother bit his lip and blinked back a few tears.

"Oh! Oh, Nii-san!" I grabbed him and held him close. He buried his face into my shoulder. "Come on…let's go home." I said quietly.

Once back at our apartment, I sat brother down on the couch and began putting away our food. Ed hadn't said anything since the incident back at the market.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" I asked Ed, cautiously sitting down beside him.

He buried his face in his hands. "I just happened to look beyond Mrs. Volk's stand and I saw him; standing and talking with another merchant. He was laughing, and his hair shined in the sun along with those dark eyes…" I placed a hand on his back and he sighed into his gloves. "I thought the hurting had finally stopped. But I guess those wounds had just been hiding."

The first year or so after the final closing of the gate had been hard for both of us. But especially Ed. I still missed our home. When I dwelled on the thought of Resembool and Mother, of Winry and Granny Pinako, Me and Brother's journey to find the Philosopher's Stone, it hurt. Sometimes it felt like the hurt would never go away and like something had been ripped from my heart. But then I saw Brother's smiling face next to me…and the hurt lessened.

But sometimes, Ed's face wasn't always smiling. There had been many nights when Brother had silently cried himself to sleep. He missed home as much as I did, he just didn't show it or talk about it. But there was one other thing that made him hurt more than me. I may have had something missing in my heart, but his heart had been shattered. There wasn't a single day that passed when he didn't think about _him_. Not a single night a tear hadn't been shed for _him_. There was a certain Colonel back home; a certain Colonel that made Brother clutch his pillows at night; a certain Colonel that caused the tears to streak down Brother's face; a certain Colonel that Brother would never see again.

And sometimes that pain was just too much for Edward.

Brother had told me that the two years we'd been separated were hard. That every night, he would stare up at the stars and think about me and Winry and all of our friends. And he'd think about the Colonel. He'd think about their good-bye and how he would give anything to see his smile, to feel his warmth, to kiss his lips one more time. He wished he could take that good-bye back and make a true good-bye; something that he could hold onto the rest of his life. All that their real good-bye had given Ed was worry. Ed didn't know how the Colonel's confrontation with Fuhrer Bradley had ended. He told me that he liked to think that Mustang had succeeded, and everything turned out okay. But there were times he thought "_What if he didn't?_" Brother was alone in this strange world. No one was there to comfort him.

As time carried on, it stopped hurting so much. He was able to sleep peacefully at night without the pain of a missing love one stabbing at his heart. But when he came back to Ametris and saw everyone, saw all those familiar faces, all those missed people, and then left, the bandage time had covered his wounds with was ripped off giving them a new sting.

"_I thought that maybe I'd at least get my dream good-bye with him._" Brother told me one night, "_But I'll just have to settle for seeing his face one last time._"

After that, Brother was right back to where he was before; back when he had first started living on this side of the Gate. The only difference this time was that he wasn't alone. We would hold each other through the tears and snuggle close to each other under the covers at night like we would when we were young. We were a reminder to each other of what we were leaving behind. And when I hugged Brother, I felt like I was hugging everyone back in our world. I'm sure Brother felt the same when holding me. And it made me feel better.

After a while we were able to deal with all our memories better. There weren't anymore tears. We had fully accepted our lives in this world. But when Ed saw Mustang's double, all those defenses that he had built up came crashing down and the flood of memories overwhelmed him.

"Maybe I just imagined him." Ed whispered.

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. _Yes, maybe you did_. But would that be implying that he was going insane? _Maybe you didn't imagine him. Maybe he was really there and you'll see him again._ But what if he didn't see him again? _Maybe he really was there. But what are the chances of seeing him again?_ No. That might be the worst reply. It's already impossible for him to see the Colonel again and telling him he probably wouldn't see his doppelganger ever again….

Edward looked up at me and forced a smile. "You hungry?"

I stared at him for a moment. Typical Ed. I nodded with a smile.

He stood from the couch and walked into the kitchen. I followed him.

"…Nii-san…" I began slowly.

He looked over at me in mid-reach for something in the cupboard. "Yeah Alphonse?"

"…are you gonna be okay?"

He turned away from me. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

**Well that was depressing...**

**YES! I KNOW! A RoyEd story told in ALPHONSE VEIW!! haha, I thought it'd be interesting...**

**Ah-heh...sorry for the little history lesson there...I'm a history nut when it comes to WW1 and WW2.**

**Reviews plz! I love them more than life itself! and don't forget to come back for chap 2!!**


	2. They Met on Campus

**Here's chapter two! Finally! haha, I know, it took a while. Well what happened was I lost computer access for a couple days and I also ran into a bit of writers block. But have no fear! We're back on track! Last chapter was just kind of a 'this is the setting' type thing. I blabbered a lot. xD But we get somewhere in this chapter! And incase you didn't notice, I switch between "Nii-san" and "Brother". That's just how I roll.  
Thank you everyone who's put this on their story stalker list and who's reviewed!  
So without further distraction, chapter 2! Enjoy! **

--

The door slammed shut.

"Nii-san? Is that you?"

"_It had to be you!_"(1) Ed leapt into the room. "_It had to be you!_" He twirled around a few times and continued singing. "_I wandered around, and finally found, the somebody who, could make me be true!_" He suddenly grabbed me around the waist, picked me up and spun around with me in the air. I laughed and he set me down. He twirled off, humming and dancing around the room.

"You seem awful happy today, Brother!"

"_For nobody else, gave me a thrill!_" He ran back over to me and tapped me on the nose. "_With all your faults, I love you still!_" He pranced into another room. "_It had to be you! Wonderful you!_"

I ran after him. He'd picked up a pillow off the couch and was now dancing with it. "_It had to be you!_" He finished with a _plop!_ on the couch and hugged the pillow with a dreamy expression on his face.

I laughed. "You must've had a good day!"

"The best day of my life!"

"What happened?" I asked.

"I met him!"

My eyes widened. "You mean…?"

He nodded enthusiastically; a grin reaching from ear to ear.

"Brother!" I sat down beside him excitedly. "How?! Where?!"

"On campus!" He placed his hands on my shoulders. "And you won't believe this!"

He told me everything. He said it was during lunch. Ed had just finished eating and was walking through the courtyard to his next class early. His face was buried in "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes"(2) a book on rocketry theories. He knew the campus by heart so he didn't need to watch where he was going. All the students were still in the dinning hall so it had surprised him when his face hit dark green cloth covered in pins and buttons. He stumbled backwards.

"Oh! Please excuse me; I wasn't watching where I was going."

Brother had stared up at him in awe; his book lying on the ground. The man bent over to pick it up. Brother said that in that instant, his heart kicked into high gear and he couldn't breathe. He had wanted to come up with a witty response, but he couldn't make himself speak.

"N-no. It was my fault." Brother had finally choked out. "I shouldn't have been reading and walking at the same time."

"Ah. Robert Goddard. I take it you have an interest in rockets?"

Ed had just nodded and took the book.

"I have a friend back home who knows Mr. Goddard."

"Back home?" Ed asked, his interest in this new Roy overpowering the scientist in him. "Where're you from?"

"United States." He said, straightening out his black overcoat. "And you?"

"Here. I-In Munich." Brother replied, motioning to the ground and the buildings with his hands.

"Ah." Roy gave a single nod.

"So…Um…"

Roy outstretched a hand. "I'm Roy Mustang by the way."

Ed slowly took his hand and shook it, his face burning. "I'm Edward. Edward Elric."Edward then turned to walk away, unsure if he could take anymore, when something grabbed his sleeve.

"Would you mind if I walked with you?"

Ed was stunned by this question. He blinked. "N-no. Not at all."

A warm smile spread across Roy's face and he took a step towards Edward.

"So…what brings you here to Munich? To…to Germany even?" Brother asked this new Roy.

"Well," He sighed. "It started off as military business."

"Military…business?" Edward asked. He wondered if that was coincidence.

Roy nodded, pulling back his overcoat a bit to reveal a dark green U.S. military uniform. "But I'm never one for work, so I decided to turn this into a vacation."

"Say," Edward stopped walking. "You wouldn't happen to be a Colonel, would you?"

Roy blinked. "Me? A Colonel? I wish. What made you think I was?"

"Oh." Edward looked at his feet, scratching the back of his neck. "It was just a guess."

The clock tower struck one o'clock and a flood of students spilled out into the courtyard. Edward turned to Roy. He figured that it would probably be the last time he'd see this doppelganger. He didn't want to say goodbye. But he couldn't exactly ditch school and cling to someone he had just met. Brother bit his lip. "I…I gotta go. So…ah…see ya." He turned to walk off to his class.

"Hey!"

Ed whipped around.

"Would you like to join me later tonight?" Roy asked, his intense eyes burning holes through Brother.

Ed's stomach did a flip and his head began to spin. He didn't even realize he hadn't said anything in response.

"It's just that, you know, you're the first person I've really had an actual conversation with while here. Maybe we could continue it over dinner?"

"Um…y-yeah. Sure! Of course! Of course!"

Roy laughed. "Great. I'll pick you up at seven."

Brother began babbling. "Dinner. Cool. Yeah. So I'll, um, see you then!" He tripped over a cobblestone sticking out of the ground and turned a slight shade of pink. "Ah-heh-heh. Uh…bye!" He stumbled the other way, continuing on to his class.

"Edward?"

Ed froze in mid-step at the sound of his name being uttered by the voice that made his knees weak. A voice he hadn't heard in so long. "Huh? What?"

"I don't know where you live."

"Oh!" Edward gasped in realization. He pulled a piece of paper out of his notepad and grabbed a pen from his pocket. "922 Muller Lane." He scribbled the address on the paper and held it out to Roy with a shaky hand. "It's just a few blocks from here. Real easy to find. You can't miss it. Not that you seem like the person who would-." He took a deep breath after reading Roy's expression which told him he was babbling again. "I'll just…See ya." He gave a small wave.

And with that, Brother floated off to his next class.

"Brother!" I cried. "That's so sweet!"

Ed sighed. "I know! But I can't get ahead of myself. It took a while to hit me, but this man isn't the Colonel. He may have the same appearance as him, but he's still not the Colonel." He glanced down at his shoes but then a small smile appeared. "But it's worth a shot, right?"

"Right!" I shouted.

"We'll just have to see where this takes us."

I smiled at him, glad he had finally found some happiness.

Suddenly, he smacked his forehead. "What was I thinking? I was such a babbling idiot!"

"No you weren't! You were just overwhelmed with happiness!" I threw my arms around him. "It sounded like you were really cute!"

Ed blushed a bit. "Al!"

I giggled, releasing him from the hug.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Ed stood from the couch. "I need to get ready for-."

"Your date?" I questioned.

"Well…it's not official…"

I hooked my arm around his neck and walked him upstairs. "Close enough."

There was a knock on the door; three times; and it was a firm knocking.

"It's him! He's here!" I cried to Ed.

"Shhhh! Don't let him hear you!" He rushed down the stairs, practically running me over. He skidded to a stop before the door. "Now you stay there!" He jabbed a finger towards me standing in the middle of the staircase. I just sighed and nodded.

Brother opened the door. Roy stood there, his hand raised as if he were going to knock again. He slowly lowered it. "Hello."

"Hey." Brother greeted him.

I noticed that the green uniform Ed had mentioned that Roy was wearing before had been traded for a plain black jacket a tie. Edward, after tearing through his closet, had picked out an outfit not all that different from his normal attire. Instead of a light brown vest, he wore a light brown jacket. I had tried to get him to wear a bow-tie or even a tie with it but he refused.

"Shall we?" Roy swept his arm out towards the street.

With a grin, Edward stepped out into the street, closing the door behind him.

I still stood on the stairs, and after a few seconds passed, I grabbed my coat and snuck out the door.

I followed Brother and Roy, hiding in the shadows, as they walked down the street. It didn't seem like they were saying much, so I silently wished one of them would break the ice. But neither of them did. And before long, they'd reached a small restaurant and took a seat at a table outside. I spotted a fake tree a few feet away from their table, and slid behind it, peeking through the leaves.

"Ever been here before?" Roy asked Edward.

Ed shrugged. "Once or twice. They have really good white sausages."

"Is that so? Hm, well I might have to try some of those…"

A waiter came over to their table and scribbled down their order of two white sausage meals. My stomach growled as if saying it wanted a meal too. I looked down at my tummy. "Shhh! I know you're hungry Mr. Tummy, but I really want to see what happens!" I returned my attention to Brother and Roy.

"So, I'm assuming you're a student at Munich University." Roy said.

Ed nodded. "Yup. Junior year."

"And let me guess, your major is in rocketry."

Brother laughed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well you wouldn't be reading Goddard if you were studying to be a fictional writer."

"Quite the contrary; Goddard's theories were sometimes thought to be totally absurd before his first liquid-fuel rocket launched in March."(3) Brother explained.

"You have a point." Roy replied. "What did you think about that rocket launch?"

Ed sighed in amazement. "It was unbelievable! I mean, it's not like I saw it or anything, but just hearing that he actually launched a rocket using all that was in his research was just…wow!"

Roy laughed. "Yeah I thought it was pretty amazing myself."

There was a pause in the conversation for a few minutes. Brother played with his fork and Roy kept turning his glass of water around. Finally, Roy asked another question.

"So…do you just go to school? Or do you work somewhere too?"

"I'm a part time librarian." Ed said, folding his hands together and resting his chin on them. "It's not much, but with going to school and spending time with Al, it's pretty good. It pays the bills and I enjoy it too."

"Al?" Roy raised a dark eyebrow.

"Oh! Alphonse, he's my younger brother."

"Ah." A relieved expression crossed Roy's face. "So I guess you don't live all by yourself."

"Nope."

"Do you just live with your brother?"

Ed nodded not saying anything more on the matter. Then he chuckled. "Enough about me, how about you? Do you have anyone back home?"

Roy shook his head. "Just some friends, that's all."

"Really?"

I could tell what Brother was thinking. He was checking to see if Roy had a girlfriend, or even a wife. Like he had said before, this Roy wasn't the Colonel. So many things about him could be different.

"Yeah. I'm an only child, and my parents died a while back." He laughed. "I'm usually a ladies man but none of them can deal with all the military crap I have to do."

Edward smirked. "Sounds about right." He muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh! It's nothing."

"Well, how about you?" Roy questioned. "You said you live with your brother, but someone as good-looking as you must have the girls chasing you down every street."

Brother blushed and looked away, laughing nervously. "Nah."

I raised an eyebrow. 'Good-looking'? I grinned to myself; that was a good sign. And Roy returning the question meant he was testing the waters also.

The rest of the night continued on, the conversation flowing steadily. It was late when Roy finally walked Ed home. I snuck around to the back door and was waiting on the couch when the door swung open.

"Well I thank you for the meal!" Edward said. "Are you sure you don't want me to repay you for my half?"

Roy shook his head. "No it's my treat."

"I had a great time."

"Yeah, me too."

"So I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I think you will."

They smiled, said goodbye, and Edward shut the door, sighing happily.

--  
**Yes, I have to do these note things! **

**1. The song Ed is singing "It Had to Be You" was a song first published in 1924 (This story is in 1926 if I didn't mention it before) but the most known version is by Frank Sinatra in the 1970s unless my source lies.**

**2. "A Method Of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" was a book of Robert Goddard's research published in 1919. I felt so smart when I connected rockety to Goddard and found this book. But then I watched episode 51 and guess what? That's the book Ed is talking about to his Daddy. My smart moment failed. **

**3. In March of 1926, Dr. Goddard launched the first liquid fuel rocket. I flipped when I found out it was the same year as this story's setting, so I stuck it in there.**

**And that's all the real facts in this chapter. Again, I'm a history nut, so expect more actual things poping up here and there.  
Anyone like super stealthy spy Al? Haha, hope you liked the chapter and remember, reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	3. It's a Date!

**Here it is, chapter three! Jeeze am I over my head in writing! Four stories going at the same time! And guess what? This one is getting the least attention! D: I'm trying my best to work on it though. And I swear this will get finished! I have this new thing about finishing all my stories no matter what cuz unfinished stories piss me off. They're so disapointing aren't they?  
Well anywho...enjoy this chapter! Oh! And thanks a bunch for the wonderful reviews!**

**--**

"Guten Tag!(1) Um…" I sighed as the bell above the door to the flower shop dinged. I was tired from last night and my German wasn't coming to me very easily. I decided to drop it. "How may I help you?"

"You wouldn't happen to deliver, would you?"

I froze and took a look at the customer who had just walked through the door.

It was Roy.

"Uhm…yes we deliver."

"Great!" He took a quick glance around the store and gave a nervous chuckle. "What type of flowers would you recommend?"

I bounced up and down on the inside. 'Is he getting flowers for Nii-san?!' I thought.

"It depends." I said, trying to contain my excitement. It made me sound like an overly happy sales girl. "Are these for a girlfriend? Or maybe for a sick friend?"

"They're for a new acquaintance." Roy answered.

I quickly scanned my mind for Ed's favorite flower. Had he even mentioned it to me? Did he even have a favorite flower? It was something with an 'I'…Oh yes!

"How about some Irises?" I walked over to a bucket holding the Irises and took a few out that were getting ready to bloom.

Roy nodded. "I think they'd like those a lot."

"And how about…" I guided Roy over to the bucket of Roses. "Some roses?"

True, they may be the flower of love, and that was why I was trying to get Roy to buy them, but they can also stand for other things too.

Roy bent over and picked two red ones from the bucket. "These will do." He handed them to me and I walked him back over to the counter. I asked if he wanted them in a vase or in a bouquet and he said vase. So I grabbed a glass vase, stuck the Irises in, added some baby's breath for accent, and placed the two roses in the middle side by side, hoping I was sending a message with them. I set the vase of flowers aside and pushed a pad and pen between me and Roy. I took a small note card from the card holder. "You can write a message that we'll stick in the vase for you. And we need the address if it's a delivery."

"Oh yes, it's…" He trailed off in thought, trying to remember our address. I had already started writing '922' and he glanced down at the pad. He laughed. "Are you a psychic or something?"

"Huh?"

"922. That's the house number I was trying to think of."

I froze. "O-oh. I guess it was just coincidence, heh-heh."

"Well, anyway, it's 922 Muller Lane." Roy moved on. I was glad he hadn't questioned me more.

"Alright." I waited for him to finish filling out the card. Then he paid for it and left.

When I was sure nobody else was around, I removed the note card from the flowers and opened it.

"_Edward-_

_For a new friend who I have enjoyed spending time with. May we get to know each other even better. How about it? Movies? This Friday? I'll see you then._

_-Roy."_

"Al!" Edward shouted as soon as I opened the door. He rushed at me and grabbed me in a hug. "Can you believe it?! He sent me flowers!"

"Really?! That's great Brother!" I smiled as he ran over to the vase, tugging me along. Sure, I could've brought Brother's flowers home with me, but where's the fun in that?

"They're Irises!" He stuck his face in the soon-to-bloom flowers and sniffed them. "How did he knew these were my favorite?! And look at the roses!" He pointed at the two flowers in the middle. "It's almost like a secret message! Cuz there's two roses! Ya know, like one's me and one's him?!"

I grinned at Ed's excitement. He was acting like a school girl drooling over a crush! I giggled as he picked up the note card.

"And he wants to go to the movies!" Brother gripped my shoulders and shook me gently. "The movies Al! Do you know why people go to the movies together?"

"Um…so they can watch a flim?"

"No silly! They go on dates!" He was beaming. "To be honest, I wasn't so sure that this would work out as well as it is. I thought that dinner last night would be one of very few…dates…if you will…and now he sent me flowers! And asked me to a movie!" He sighed.

I wanted to point out my observation from the night before, Brother! He asked you if you had a girlfriend remember? That means he was testing the waters! But if I did, how would I explain following him?

"I think something's happening here, Al. Maybe it's too soon to tell and maybe he's not the Colonel, but I feel something." Brother's eyes shined, perhaps the brightest they'd ever shined in a long time.

"Ready to go?" Roy came Friday night to pick Brother up for their movie. No, I wasn't tagging along…officially anyway.

"Yeah." Edward answered. "Just lemme tell Al I'm leaving."

My ears perked up. Did he just mention my name?

"Yo, Alphonse!"

I wasn't sure if I should move or not. So I just sat there on the stairs.

"…Al?"

"Yeah?"

"Come here!"

I asked myself if me going to the door would ruin a Roy/Ed moment. I decided not since Brother was calling me. I hopped off the stairs and walked to the door.

"Roy, this is my Brother, Alphonse." Ed introduced me. He didn't say the opposite "Al, this is Roy Mustang." and I didn't need to ask why.

A look of recognition hit Roy's face. "You're the boy from the flower shop."

I turned pink and gave a nervous chuckle. "Yup, that's me." I stuck out a hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

Roy raised an eyebrow while shaking my hand. "Finally?"

I smiled. "I've heard a lot about you."

Ed's elbow dug into my rib cage. "Al!" he hissed, cheeks burning.

I had a good feeling about this Roy. And If I left it up to Brother, things would go at such a slow pace. If Roy was on vacation like Ed said, he wouldn't be around forever. Comments like 'Ed's been talking about you' lets Roy know that Edward enjoyed spending time with him so much that he told me about it. And that translates to 'he likes you enough to talk about you 24/7.'

Roy smiled. "Oh really?" He turned his gaze on Ed who couldn't get any redder.

"Well wasn't this a lovely conversation!" Ed said quickly. "Heh-heh. Come on Roy we don't want to be late for the picture!" He grabbed Roy's hand, dragging him away from the door.

I watched as Ed pulled Roy along down the sidewalk but Roy stopped him in front of a black car. He opened the passenger door. Ed stared at him with surprise then climbed in.

Now a car was not only unexpected for Brother, but for me too. How was I supposed to follow them now? Stow away in the trunk? As good of an idea that was, it would be noticeable. So I just had to walk. Luckily, Edward had been such a blabbering love crazy girl this week he told me about six or seven times that they were going to the theater on Haus Street. I began my ten block walk. "Hopefully I don't miss anything good."

Luck was on my side. The ticket lines were murder on Friday nights. And by the time I got there – okay, so I started running after two blocks which is when the picture of a make-out session popped into my head – Roy and Brother had just reached the front of the line. That was good. The most I'd missed was some conversation. And if I had walked and they were already in the middle of a movie when I arrived, I wouldn't have known which movie they picked!

"So…which movie are we seeing?" Ed asked.

"You're choice."

"But…you're paying." Edward said. "It should be your choice."

Roy sighed. "I don't mean this in a bad way, but after piecing together everything you've told me, you and Alphonse are pretty tight on money. I'm guessing going to the movies is a treat for you."

Ed was silent for a moment. "Yeah…I don't go here very often…"

"Then I'd like to have the privilege of treating you to any movie you'd like." Roy smiled at Ed, and Ed smiled back.

"Okay." Edward looked at the four movie posters; the movies that were playing. "Do you have any recommendations?"

"Hmm…" Roy pondered each poster. "I'd recommend 'The Big Parade'(2), but unfortunately that isn't playing here…" He turned to look at Ed. "That's one of my favorites." He returned to the posters. "But from the selection here….I'd say 'The Phantom of the Opera'(3)."

"What type of movie is it?" Edward asked slowly.

"Horror. With a dash of romance."

Ed grinned. "Sounds like my type of movie."

"Good choice. You'll enjoy it."

Now I had just one little itty bitty problem here. How was I going to get in? I didn't grab any money. And Even if I had, Ed would've noticed it was missing. I would have to sneak in. I bit my lip. Sneaking in wasn't right. I could get in trouble. And it was like stealing. But…it's not like I was actually going to watch the movie…I gave the situation one last thought then dashed to the back door of the theater Ed and Roy had just gone in.

I spotted the two among the theater full of people. When I was sure they weren't looking my way, I flew up the stairs and took a seat a couple rows behind them. I had only been to see a film once, so after the opening credits I found myself being drawn into the movie. There was a person walking around with a lamp in a dark place, it looked like somewhere underground, and when he disappeared, another figure came with a lamp and started following him. It was very intriguing. I let myself watch the movie for a minute or two then shook my head. I was here on a mission, not to watch a movie.

Brother and Roy watched the movie in silence for a while. But when that Phantom started having some lines, Roy whispered them in Edward's ear.

Ed laughed. "You've got this thing memorized don't you?"

"Another one of my favorites." Roy said. "I've seen this about five times."

"Five times?" Ed asked amazed. "Then how come we're watching it now?"

"Because you wanted to see it."

"Yeah, but won't it get boring for you?"

"Nonsense." Roy replied. "I could never grow tired of this movie. Besides, I have ways of entertaining myself."

A grin spread across my face; I could practically see the shiver run down Brother's spine.

They returned their attention to the movie. Every once in a while Roy would explain to Edward what was going on and now Ed was joining in on reciting lines. He didn't have them memorized like Roy did, but he did just fine reading them off the screen(4). Not much else happened other than that. But they were having a good time.

Then, towards the end of the movie, there was this part where the Phantom's mask was removed(5). My jaw dropped at the sight. Some people even screamed! I looked down at Ed and Roy to see how Ed would react. He jumped and his hand gripped Roy's. When Ed realized what he was doing, he quickly pulled his hand off Roy's and turned a light shade of pink.

"Heh, sorry."

"It's fine." And then, something huge happened. Well…huge in my opinion. Roy took Ed's hand and held on to it. "That part always startles everyone."

Ed's mouth hung open as Roy held onto his hand and his pink cheeks turned red.

A huge smile spread across my face. Brother was right, things were happening here.

--

**Alright. A slightly bigger history lesson this time...**

**1) "Guten Tag" means "Hello" in German.**

**2) "The Big Parade" was a silent movie made in 1925. I wanted to use this movie because it's about a soldier who is sent to France in WW1 and he falls in love with a girl there. I thought it would be very similar to the situation in the story. But I couldn't find the movie to watch, so I just couldn't use it.**

**3) "The Phantom of the Opera" - yes that movie is familiar to everyone isn't it? - the original movie was made in 1925 and was a silent movie. I was able to download the original and watch it so that's why it showed up in here. Plus I enjoy this movie. xD**

**4) I found this interesting. In silent movies, certain lines are put into the movie. So one minute you're watching the actors, then it cuts to a slide with the character's line on it, then it goes back to the film. Takes out some of the guess work! haha.**

**5) This scene in the 1925 version made audiences scream, faint, and even scared them so badly, there was an increase in sales of replacement theater seats! Might not seem real scary these days, but back in the 20's, that was pretty damn scary!**

**History notes are over now! xD I hope you liked this! Reviews: I love them like always! Oh and if anyone has suggestions for dates Roy and Ed could go on, toss me a few! I have ideas, but I'd like to see what you guys think!**


	4. Rain Triggered Sleepover

**YES! I finally finished this chapter! I know, I know, it took forever. But I had a serious writing problem. I was not motivated to write anything for what seemed like forever. Since I got out of school actually. But today, I sat down and my uber writers block was busted! So to make up for taking so long, you guys get a longer than normal chapter! Enjoy!**

**--**

After the movies, Edward would not stop talking!! Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that brother has a chance with this Roy, but two days of non-stop blabbering like, 'oh Alphonse, isn't it wonderful?' and 'he held my hand!' and 'did you ever notice the way his hair shines in the light in our doorway?' and 'I wonder if he'll stop by today…' and 'did I tell you? He held my hand!' I was ready to strangle him!! It was nothing but Roy, Roy, Roy all day long! But I must say, it was worth putting up with to see Ed so happy.

Luckily, I only had to hear about the movie date for the weekend, cuz on Monday, Ed got a surprise when he stepped out the door for his class.

"Off to school I see."

Ed's shoulder bag slid off his shoulder as he gaped. There was Roy, standing at the bottom of our steps. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just passing by." I highly doubted that. He looked like he had been standing there for a good half hour, not just walking by as Brother stepped out the door. "I hear these streets can be pretty dangerous. Need an escort?" Roy flashed a smile as he held out his arm, waiting for Ed to take it.

Ed slung his bag over his shoulder and rushed down the steps. "Sure." He hooked his arm through Roy's and they began their walk down the street.

"So," Roy reached over, pulled Ed's bag from it place and set it on his own shoulder. "What classes do we have today?"

That was all I heard. That was all I saw. The two rounded a corner and disappeared behind the brick wall of the book shop a few doors down. No, I didn't follow them this time. I didn't for a few reasons.

One: I'd been spying on them every time they were with each other, so even though they thought they were by themselves, they weren't. I thought it was about time I gave them some privacy. And it was just a couple block walk; I hopefully wouldn't be missing anything but conversation.

Two: I wouldn't be hearing a repeat of an event I witnessed! I would have no idea what happened between Brother and Roy, so it would all be new to me when Edward came home and turned into the love crazy girl he had been lately.

Three: It was seven in the morning. I happen to like sleeping, but having your ear talked off until your brother finally falls asleep makes you tired. That, and I had to go to the flower shop at nine.

I sighed, shuffled back into my room, and crawled back into bed.

The rest of the week continued on in the same manner. Ed would leave, Roy would be waiting, they'd walk off to the university arms linked, and I would wait for a 'Roy Update' when Brother got home. Actually, there was nothing much for Nii-san to report. They just chatted. Part of me was relieved to hear nothing huge happened while I was at home. But then another part of me wanted things to move along faster.

So it was a normal, ordinary, Saturday night. It was raining outside; one of the occasional thunder storms we got. Brother and I had made a fire in the fireplace and were sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, talking about…well lots of stuff. I was able to toss in a few words about customers demanding daisies while we were in the middle of a daisy shortage, but most of the time I just listened to Ed. He talked about his classes, took out his notes from some of his classes and taught me a few things, and then he talked about - who else? – Roy.

He laughed. "And then, then he says that his friend Jean-."

He was interrupted by a knock.

"I wonder who that is…" I said, making my way to the door.

I pulled the door open to reveal a soaking wet Roy Mustang. He was holding a damp newspaper over his head as a substitute for an umbrella. He flashed a smile.

"Hello Alphonse."

"Oh! Hello!"

A flash of lightening lit up the sky followed by a rumble of thunder.

"Al, who's at the door?" Brother got off the couch and ran over to where I was standing. When he saw who it was, he froze, took a look at what he was wearing – a plain button down shirt and his boxers – and blushed. I tried to hold back a laugh.

"I kinda got caught in the rain…" Roy said, motioning to the outdoors as another bolt of lightening flashed across the sky. "Do you think I could…"

"Oh! Yeah! Sure!" Ed said, opening the door wider. "Come in!"

Roy smiled. "Thanks." He stepped inside and I closed the door behind him. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He said walking towards the couch we were sitting on a few moments before.

"Well, Al and I were just-." Ed began, but I cut him off.

"No! Of course you're not interrupting anything. We were just relaxing by the fire." I rushed over to the couch and began picking up Ed's school books and tossed them behind the couch. "It's quite chilly out tonight with the rain and all. And you must be freezing in those wet clothes."

Roy scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah I'm not as comfortable as I'd like to be…"

"I'll go get you something to change into!" I offered - or rather told – him. I ran upstairs leaving Brother and Roy alone.

I began raiding Ed's closet for something Roy could change into. Everything I'd come across would either be too small, or …well just too small. I paused and tried to think of what else Ed had around for clothes. Then I went for one of his drawers where he kept his plain white shirts and pulled out one of the larger ones. But Roy couldn't just walk around in a shirt, he needed pants. Well….maybe he could walk around bottom-less, but Brother would kill me for making him do that. I laughed at that thought and moved on to find pants of some sort. That's when Brother walked in.

"Hey Al." He waved, quickly making his way to his closet.

"Brother! What are you doing up here? You should be downstairs with Roy!"

"I need pants." He replied.

"Pants?" I turned to give him a skeptical look. "Ed, you're wearing boxers. It's not like you're naked."

"Well it's still embarrassing!"

"Edward!"

He ignored me.

"Come on, Brother."

Ed let out a heavy sigh. "Boxers show my auto-mail."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

"One of the main reasons…" He looked away.

"Ed…you've never had a problem with this before."

"This time, it's different. Back home, everybody already knew about it. And it wasn't such a strange thing. But here…almost nobody knows, and auto-mail doesn't exist on this side of the gate."

"Brother, you're making a big deal out of nothing." I walked over and placed a hand on his back. "If he really likes you, he won't care. I bet he won't even notice. And even if he does, he's probably just curious about it! Your auto-mail is part of you, Nii-san. If anything, he'll just want to get to know you more by hearing about it."

Edward smiled weakly. "You're probably right."

I laughed. "Come on, Nii-san, I'm always right!"

"Don't go giving yourself too much credit there, Al." Ed said, now moving towards the door.

I laughed and tossed the shirt and a pair of boxers I'd found at him. "Get down there and use this time to your advantage!"

"Wish me luck!" He waved as he left the room.

I waited to hear his footsteps descending the stairs until I followed him. I hung around on the staircase for a bit as Ed gave the clothes to Roy and pointed him in the direction of the bathroom. When he came back and they were both distracted, I slipped into the kitchen. Why the kitchen you ask? Well it was no accident that I picked that room. There just so happened to be a hole in the wall that gave the person who looked through it an excellent view of the living room. I grinned as I pulled up a chair and sat myself before the hole, peering through it at all the action. Or lack of.

"Thanks for letting me borrow these." Roy motioned to the change of clothes as he sat down on the couch. "It's a lot better than those wet ones."

"Oh, no problem." Ed replied.

That's when an awkward silence fell over the room. And it lasted FOREVER. They just sat there. No talking, no looking - except for the periodic glance-then-look-away action - , absolutely nothing! I just wanted to jump in there and be like 'you, him NOW!' and push the both of them together! But instead, I sighed and leaned away from the wall. I was about to give up when I heard a muffled voice. I snapped back to my previous position and shoved my face against the hole.

"Were you able to find that record you were looking for?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. I had to go to five shops until I finally found it though."

I raised an eyebrow. What the heck were they talking about? I racked my brain for something Brother might've mentioned.

'Sometime this week he said he was going to look for a record for his friend Riza. She likes music from foreign countries.'

I popped back to reality. That was it! A record for Riza. Well now that I fully understood what was going on, I could re-focus on the conversation.

"Did I actually interrupt something? Or was Alphonse just being polite?" Roy asked.

"Well it wasn't much. I was just showing him a few things I learned at the university. But it's fine, I can do that anytime." Ed smiled.

"Hey," Roy pointed at a small bag sitting near the fireplace. "What's that?"

Brother turned to look at the package Roy was pointing at. "Those? Oh! Those are just some marshmallows we were going to toast."

"Ah, so you were planning on me coming over?" Roy smirked.

"N-no. By 'we' I mean Al and I." Edward said. "But…" He got off the couch and grabbed the bag. "I don't think Al would mind if we had a couple."

No, I didn't mind; As long as they saved at least one for me.

Minutes later, the living room was filled with laughter as Ed desperately blew on his marshmallow attempting to put out the flame that was burning it.

"It…won't go out!!" He cried giving it another blow.

Roy laughed and blew gently on the flaming treat. It went out. Ed and Roy stared at each other for a moment. Then Roy smirked and popped Ed's marshmallow into his mouth. "Mmm….a bit on the crunchy side…" He said between chews.

"Hey!" Brother playfully punched him in the arm. "That was mine!"

Roy just shrugged as he swallowed.

"Well you know what that means, don't you?" Ed smirked.

Roy raised a dark eyebrow.

"It means…" Ed reached over and snatched Roy's marshmallow, then shoved it in his mouth. "That I get yours!"

"Oooh! You did not just steal my perfectly golden-brown crispy and delicious marshmallow!" Roy poked Brother in the stomach.

Ed laughed, but slowly stopped once he noticed Roy staring at him. "What?"

"You have beautiful eyes…did you know that?" He leaned a bit closer to Ed.

Brother's face instantly turned a bright shade of red as he looked away bashfully. He giggled softly and looked back at Roy, his hand searching for the bowl sitting behind him. His hand found it, picked up a piece of popcorn and flung it at Roy. It hit Roy right in between the eyes and he blinked.

"Pfft!" Edward covered his mouth, holding a laugh in.

"You think that's funny?" Roy asked, reaching for the bowl behind Ed.

"N-ha! No!" Ed laughed pushing the bowl back further.

"You'll see how funny it is when I dump the whole bowl on your head!" Roy jumped forward trying to grab the bowl of popcorn.

"No!" Brother snatched the bowl and held it above his head.

Roy chuckled. "Yes, I'll never be able to reach it there." He said sarcastically. "Ed, you're too short."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT?!" Brother yelled, holding Roy back with his foot while he held the bowl as far away from him as possible.

"Who am I calling short?" Roy repeated. He pushed Edward's foot away and leaned over him. "You!" He poked Brother in the nose just as he grabbed a hold of the bowl.

Ed growled at the short comment but once he realized Roy was holding the popcorn bowl, he threw himself on Roy desperately reaching for it. "Give it back!"

"Nope!" Roy shook his head, holding the bowl above his head.

"Come on!" Ed pleaded. He reached as high as he could but still could only graze the bottom with his finger tips.

Roy laughed at Brother's flailing about. He was slowly falling backwards from Ed pushing against him attempting to gain height. And then, finally, Roy hit the floor with a thud, Brother on top of him. He smirked. It made my eyes widen. That smirk…it was something I hadn't seen in what felt like forever. Ed must've noticed it too because he stopped flailing, stared down at Roy and smiled.

"Ha!" Roy, obviously not knowing why such an ordinary thing as a smirk made Brother's actions come to a screeching halt, took advantage of Ed 's pause and poked him in the side.

Edward let out a laugh. "No! No-no-no-no-no!" He quickly snatched the bowl of popcorn and scooted away. "No tickling!" He threw another piece at Roy. It hit him on the chest. Roy watched it hit him and then hit the floor. He reached forward towards Ed and the bowl; the bowl that I had decided to hide under my bed as a possible wedding present. Edward quickly threw some popcorn at him. Roy paused, but then rolled his eyes.

"Jeeze Ed, I'm just grabbing some to eat. You don't have to act like I'm gonna dump it on you…" He smirked, taking a handful and popping a few in his mouth.

"Oh." Brother lowered his defenses a bit, just in time for a kernel to come flying at him and nailing him on the forehead. He jumped when it hit him. "Hey!"

Roy ignored him and innocently ate another piece.

"Alright from now on, the popcorn is only for eating. Got it?"

Roy shrugged. "Okay. But you're the one who started it."

"And for the rest of the week, Al thought he was gonna grow a watermelon in his stomach and explode. All from eating a stupid watermelon seed.(1)" Ed laughed. "I still can't believe he actually thought that was gonna happen!" He sighed. "Yeah…that was the first time I got in trouble for tricking Al."

An hour or so later, Roy and Ed had calmed down a bit. Ed was lying down on the couch staring up at the ceiling, and Roy was on the floor. They were playing Twenty Questions but by then they were way past twenty. Unfortunately for me, whenever Ed told a story to go along with his answer, it involved some embarrassing thing that happened to me. I sighed at the watermelon story. "I was three…what else was I supposed to think?" I muttered.  
Roy laughed at Brother's story. "Yeah…out of the two of you, you're the one who strikes me as the trouble maker."  
"Me?" Edward suddenly took on a tone of innocence. "Alphonse has had his fair share of trouble too you know."

I furrowed my brows. I certainly had not! And the times I had gotten in trouble were all thanks to Brother! I folded my arms across my chest. I'd let Nii-san's little lies slide for a bit.  
"Alright, my turn." Ed began. "What…" He bit his lip as he thought of a question. "What do you hate?"  
"Rain." Roy's answer was immediate.

Ah, what a surprise.

Edward laughed. "Rain? You seemed fine about being caught in it earlier."  
"Yes, well, I was being polite. Normally I would curse and complain about it, but I figured that wouldn't be the best way to find shelter from it." He smiled. "What about you? What do you hate?"  
"Milk."  
Roy raised an eyebrow. "Milk? You hate milk? Well no wonder you're short!"  
Ed gritted his teeth. "Well it makes more sense to hate white crap from a cow than wetness falling from a cloud!"

Roy chuckled. "If you say so…"

Ed growled, but then got back to their game. "What's something you love?"  
Roy's dark eyes narrowed as he thought of an answer. After a moment of silence, he answered. "Dogs."

Ed giggled. "Why?" I couldn't help but giggle myself after Brother asked why. He wanted to hear Roy's …well…the other Roy's rant about how dogs are loyal and never ask for a paycheck…I wondered if he was going to get it.  
"Ah-ah-ah!" Roy waggled a finger at Brother. "That's another question. You can't ask two questions in a turn."

"Oh, come on! That barely counts as a question!" Ed sat up and bounced a bit. "It's more of a 'explain your answer' type of deal."  
Roy sighed. "Alright. The answer is quite simple. You see, dogs embody loyalty. They follow their master's commands above all else. You can be a jerk to them and they don't complain!" It wasn't exactly the same way the Colonel did it, but it was entertaining enough to earn laughs from Ed. "And they never ever beg for a paycheck!" Roy had sat up in all the excitement. He smiled at Ed's giggles and lay back down in a relaxed position, hands behind his head with his eyes closed. "Ah yes…dogs are the great servants of man. I don't see how anybody couldn't love dogs."

"Loyal canine, how we salute thee!" Brother sang, making him laugh even more.  
Roy shot up. "Exactly!"

They shared a laugh for a few moments.

"If I had to guess, I'd say you were a dog lover too." Roy said.

"It's more the other way around…" Ed muttered. It made me remember the time Alexander tackled Brother to the ground. It brought a smile to my face."Well, Al loves cats. A lot. So if I'm ever around domestic animals, it's usually a cat. But I don't really care for them. I am more of a dog person."

"Ah." Roy nodded. "Okay…name something you fear."

Brother's face twisted up in thought. "Well, I'm not a big fan of needles…"

"Needles? You're afraid of needles?" Roy asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" Ed half growled.

"Nothing! You just don't seem like someone who would fear needles."  
"Well, I do." Ed shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, yeah, I can take pain, but for some reason…I don't know, they make me uneasy…"

Roy raised up a hand to silence Ed. "I don't need an explaination."

Nii-san gave him a small smile.

"Alright, my turn again." Roy stated.

"Wait, what?" Brother raised a golden eyebrow in confusion.

"You asked me two questions in a row before, so I get to ask you two questions." He smirked.

Brother sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright."

Roy bit his lower lip and cast a glance at the floor before asking. "How did you get your artificial limbs?" He asked softly.

I inhaled sharply and gnawed on my bottom lip. How would Brother handle this?

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I know it's probably none of my business-."

"There was an accident." Edward said quietly. "You see, our father left when Al and I were pretty young, so all we had left was our mother."

I held my breath. The way Ed was explaining this…was he going to say anything about alchemy? Or about our world?

"It turns out our mother was sick, but she didn't tell anyone about it. She died when I was just ten (a/n: was he ten? I'm too lazy to look it up.)." He paused, his eyes lighting up with realization. I guessed that he just remembered he couldn't say anything about alchemy. But he still continued on. "Al and I…" Another pause. I could tell he was choosing his words carefully. "Once she was gone, we decided there was nothing left there for us. We decided to burn down our home and leave it all behind. Unfortunately, I got trapped in the house and was knocked unconscious. I was found under a pile of fallen wood and later taken to the hospital. I was fine except for my arm and leg. It was so badly damaged they couldn't save them."

I smiled weakly in my spying spot. Even though the story was partly made up, it still hurt Brother to tell it.

Silence made its home in the living room. Roy opened his mouth a few times as if he were going to say something, but he just closed it.

"That's…That's horrible." He finally spoke.

Ed hung his head, still lost in his memories. "Well," He popped his head up after a moment and gave Roy a weak smile. "I'm used to it by now. They don't really bother me except for I try to cover them up in public. That's why I wear gloves. But after living with them over the years, they sometimes come in handy."

"That's right, Ed." I whispered. "Look on the bright side of things."

Brother moved his right arm about as he talked about it.

"They seem…different...than most artificial limbs." Roy noted. "They allow more movement…"

"Oh yeah. These aren't your average artificial limbs. They're called Auto-mail."

Roy nodded, not questioning him any more on it.

They sat in an awkward quiet after the subject of Brother's arm and leg. Suddenly, Ed looked over the edge of the couch at Roy who was lying back down on the floor.

"Do you like jazz music?" He asked.

"You mean like Duke Ellington and all that?(2)"

"Yeah."

"Heh, I love it!"

"Great! Cuz I just got this new record – waah!" Brother rolled to the edge of the couch meaning to get up, but instead he fell off the couch and landed on top of Roy with a 'Oof!'. He turned bright red when it sank in that he was on top of Roy, his face inches away from Roy's.

"Hello there." Roy said, moving his face a bit closer.

Ed chuckled nervously. "Hi…" He leaned hi forehead against Roy's and let his eyelids slide shut.

No way! We're they going to…? I jumped up in excitement. That's when I heard the thud and felt a throbbing pain on the top of my head. "Youch!" I shouted, quickly rubbing my head where it had collided with the cabinet.

"What was that?"

I slapped a hand over my mouth. Oh shoot! What did I do?!

"It sounded like it came from the kitchen…" I heard Edward's footsteps on the creaky wood floor.

"Shoot!" I snapped my fingers. 'Nice Job, Al!' I thought as I hurriedly searched the kitchen for an excuse I could use. I snatched an apple out of the fruit bowl just as Brother stepped into the room.

"Al?" He raised an eyebrow.

I looked at the shiny red apple in my hand and took a quick bite. "Hm?"

"Wh…what are you doing?" He shook his head.

"Oh…" I swallowed and turned the apple around in my hand. "I got hungry, so I decided to come down here and grab a snack."

"Oh…alright then…" He stood there, in front of me, watching me eat. It didn't look like he was going to move anytime soon.

I sighed as I tossed the core in the trash. "I'm just gonna go back upstairs now…"

Brother smiled. "Okay." He walked me to the bottom of the stairs. "Goodnight Alphonse!"

"Night…" I said, my frown showing in my voice.

"Anything wrong?" I heard Roy ask.

"No." Ed sat down beside Roy on the floor. "He was just having a bedtime snack." He spotted me lingering on the staircase and gave me a wave.

I sighed to myself and made my way to my room. I made a mental note to never get caught again.

Blanket wrapped around my shoulders, I slowly crept down the stairs about an hour later to find both Brother and Roy asleep. The sight brought a smile to my face. They had fallen asleep backs against the couch. Ed's head was resting on Roy's shoulder and Roy had his head resting on Brother's head. Roy also had his arm around Nii-san's shoulders and both of them had peaceful smiles on their faces. I removed the blanket from around me and covered them with it. "Goodnight you two." I whispered. I started to head back upstairs when I turned just in time to see Brother let out a happy sigh and snuggle closer to Roy. I smiled warmly, crawled into my bed, and drifted off to sleep.

--**  
okay...not much history in this. Just a few things I wanna explain...**

**1. lol, this was from an episode of Rugrats. I loved that show. The watermelon thing happened to Chuckie and it just happened to pop into my head while writing this.**

**2. Duke Ellington...I must admit, I didn't pay attention to history here. Duke Ellington's music didn't pop up until 1927 I believe, which is a year after when this story takes place. And why Duke Ellington and Jazz music you ask? Well, I've watched 'Swing Kids' one too many times. if you've never seen it, I recomend it! One of the best movies ever.**

**  
****So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews make me very happy so please, toss me some! And if anyone has an idea for this story, please, tell me. The way it's planned out now, there should only be three or four more chapters. So if you want more, give me ideas! **


	5. A Day in the Park

**So...school started. And it totally kills my writing time. I had basically the whole thing written but the last bit took forever cuz I had, like, no time. It's really horrible. Anyway, I kind of consider this my 'random chapter' nothing amazing happens, they're just kinda chillin' cuz I can't think of anything better to write. -sweatdrop- **

"I got it! I got it!" Brother ran backwards, hand up in the air trying to catch the flying pie tin I'd just tossed his way.

We were in the park playing a game called 'Frisbee' (1) Edward had learned from a couple classmates. Apparently, it was a game started by some college students in America who tossed around an empty pie tin. I have to admit, it's quite entertaining… especially when Ed runs into things.

"Heads up!" I shouted.

"Huh?" Edward tore his attention away from the flying object and looked at me, but he didn't stop running. "_Oouf_!" ….And there's object number five Brother had run into. But this wasn't like the tree or bush Nii-san had hit before. This object caught the Frisbee with one hand and placed the other hand on Ed's shoulder after he crashed into him.

"Long time no see, Edward." Roy smiled down at Ed.

Brother tilted his head up so he could see the man he'd bumped into. He turned pink. "Hey Roy!" He turned around to face Roy.

"Playing Frisbee I see." Roy turned the pie tin in his hands.

"Yeah. I learned it from some of the guys in physics. You know how to play?"

"Do I know how to play?" Roy laughed to himself. "You just so happen to be talking to Central High School's main Frisbee-throwing man!" With the flick of his wrist, he sent the tin flying back to me. "Of course, my aim's improved since those days…" He spoke, turning back to Ed. "I don't break as many windows." Roy flashed a smile as Brother laughed.

"So what brings you out here today?" Edward asked.

Roy responded with a shrug. "Just going for a stroll in the park…" He glanced up at the clear blue sky. "Nice weather today, huh?"

Brother looked upwards also to observe the sky. "Yeah… Nicest I've seen in a while. We've been getting a lot of rain lately…" Ed squinted and raised a hand to his face, blocking out the sun as he continued to stare at the sky.

"So…" Roy's eyes left the blue and fell on Nii-san again. "What are you two doing? Other than tossing around a pie tin."

"Eh…Just spending the day in the park. Al and I like to have a picnic out here every once in a while," He motioned with his head to our picnic basket sitting under a tree a few yards away. "So we just make a day of it."

"Ah…"

I shot a glance at our picnic basket and a light bulb lit up in my head. I rushed over to Brother and Roy, dropping the pie tin in the grass. "Hey!" I waved to Roy. He looked over at me and waved back. "Roy, would you like to join our picnic?" I asked him once I reached where they were standing.

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Oh…uh…I'd love to!" He paused and glanced back and forth between Brother and I. "Err…I won't be interfering any Brother bonding time, will I?"

Edward opened his mouth to answer, but I was faster. "No, no, of course not! We'd enjoy having someone else with us, wouldn't we Nii-san?" I shot him a glance.

Brother looked as if he was going to say something, but he stayed silent and just nodded in reply.

Roy smiled. "Alright then."

I smiled back, then informed brother that I was gonna go set up.

First, I laid out the red and white checkered blanket beneath the tree, then I set out some of our food and sat there on ant patrol while I waited for them to make their way over. Once they finally sat down, I decided it was time for me to disappear.

"…Brother?"

"Hm? What is it Al?"

"I think I'm gonna head home…" I stood up.

"What? But Al…we haven't even eaten yet. Besides, there's no reason for you to leave and be all by yourself at home."

"Yeah…but…" _Brother, I'm trying to get you and Roy some alone time._ I said in my mind, wondering if Ed and I had some sort of telepathic connection that would enable him to hear what I had thought.

"If this is because of me, I can just continue on my way…" Roy offered, standing up.

"No, no, that's not it at all…" I assured him. The last thing I wanted to do was push Roy away. "I'm just not feeling well…that's all."

"What do you mean you're not feeling good? You were fine a few minutes ago." Edward pointed out.

"Well…it just hit me within the last couple minutes." I lied. I hated lying – especially to Ed – but recently with all the lying and snooping I'd been doing, I deemed all of it necessary. After my little mission was done, I hoped it wouldn't stick around as a habit.

Brother stood and placed a hand on my back. "It's probably just a stomach ache, Al, nothing to worry about." He ushered me over to the tree and sat me down against it. "You just need to sit down and take it easy for a little bit. You don't need to leave."

Roy nodded in agreement with Ed's words. "Yeah, Alphonse, your Brother and I both want you to stay here. I'm sure whatever it is that's making you feel ill will pass soon."

Hmm…now there's something I wasn't expecting. They wanted to include me. I'd always thought that more time alone together would be what they wanted; it'd bring them closer after all. But…maybe having me around wasn't such a bad thing, and seeing that they wanted me around made me realize that I could afford to stay. Who knows? Maybe things would happen regardless of my presence...

I gave them a small smile. "Alright. I'll stay."

"Good! Now here," Brother handed me a slice of bread. "Eat this. It'll make you feel better."

I took the bread from him and began nibbling on it. "Yes sir." I muttered.

As Edward laughed and playfully hit me on the head, I looked over at Roy and noticed his dark eyes were glued to Edward. In that moment, I saw something in his charcoal orbs, and I knew that everything I'd done to help move things along was paying off.

"Ooow!" A young girl – maybe six or seven – cried out as she tripped and fell on the cement pathway. She curled into a ball on the ground, clutching her knee which had been scraped and tears began rolling down her cheeks.  
Ed, Roy and I all watched her, waiting for her mother or father to come rushing over. A minute or two passed and when no one came, Roy stood up, muttered an "I'll be back", and jogged over to the girl. Brother and I exchanged a questioning look: what was he going to do? We watched silently as Roy talked to the girl and calmed her down a bit. He looked at her knee, patted her head, and dug around his pocket until he produced a band-aid. He placed it over her scrape and gave her a smile which she returned. Roy helped the girl to her feet and held up his hand as if he were saying "wait right here". The girl stayed put and Roy quickly returned with a small yellow flower. He handed it to the girl who beamed and waved goodbye as she ran off.

Brother let out a soft laugh, turning to me. "He's great, isn't he?"

I simply nodded and smiled back. I returned my attention to the dark-haired man making his way back. There was something…different about this Roy. Of course, I understood that he wasn't the same exact person as the Colonel; I knew he wouldn't be from the beginning. I knew that the people we met over here weren't exactly the same as the people we knew back home. For example: Hughes. Both loved Gracia, but while the one in Amestris was a good man and pretty much accepting of everybody, the one here in this world was a Nazi.

Now, don't get me wrong, the Colonel was a great person underneath his hard, cold exterior. But this Roy…he was different. There's no other way to put it. But he seemed different in a good way. Never did Roy have that protective exterior the Colonel had; he was always friendly and warm and outgoing. And even though he was in the military, he didn't appear to be in any rush to climb the ladder of ranks. He struck me as the person who stopped every once in a while to smell the daisies, appreciate all the good things in life and make them his main focus. The Colonel wanted to change things by becoming Fuehrer, but Roy seemed to change things one person at a time…  
I continued to compare the two in my mind, staring absent-mindedly at the sky, the sound of talking and quiet giggles in the background.

"Al? Aaalll? Alphonse!"

"Huh?" I jumped as Nii-san startled me out of my thoughts.

"Welcome back." Ed teased, laughing. "Where'd you put the grapes we got?"

I blinked, my brain trying to recover from the derailment of my thoughts. "They should be in the basket…"

"I can't find them."

I sighed as I crawled over to the basket of food and opened the cover. "Liar! You didn't even look!" I grabbed the bunch of grapes sitting on top of everything else in the basket and grudgingly handed them to Ed.

"Thanks Al." He said sweetly.

I rolled my eyes and sat back against the tree, biting into a pear.

Roy reached over and plucked a grape off its stem and popped it into his mouth. He plucked another one, but held onto it. "Hey Ed, want a grape?"

Edward opened his mouth to respond, but before he could manage to get any words out, Roy popped the grape into his mouth and chuckled. Ed blushed and quietly chewed the fruit.

"I can feed myself." He mumbled after swallowing.

Roy shrugged. "I just thought you might like a grape."

Roy continued to eat the grapes, and after awhile, Ed opened his mouth, silently asking for one. Roy paused, then fed him a grape, laughing.

Food eaten and stomachs full, the three of us sat under the tree watching the various happenings in the park. Suddenly, Brother stood up.

"I'll be right back, I'm gonna go take a piss." He said bluntly.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Nicely put Brother."

"Thank you!" He replied sarcastically, running off to find a bathroom or bush.

Roy shook his head and laughed to himself.

The first couple minutes Ed was gone, an awkward silence fell between Roy and I. I didn't know what to talk to him about. I supposed I could always ask him what his rank was in the military, or where he lived…but he was the first to speak.

"Hey…Alphonse?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have any advice or tips on things I could do to make your Brother happy?"

I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face. "Roy, you're doing great! I really don't think you need advice from me."

"Well, I don't mean to sound strange or anything, but it sometimes seems like he's expecting me to do something…"

I racked my brain. Kiss him? No, if Nii-san still blushed when Roy fed him a grape, he wasn't expecting a kiss yet. Maybe he wanted Roy to do something the Colonel used to do. Tease him? I couldn't resist laughing in my mind at that thought. But the more I dwelled on teasing, the more it seemed to make sense. One of the big things in Ed and the Colonel's relationship was teasing and insulting each other. It was all playful insults of course; they didn't mean to hurt one another. Maybe Brother missed it.

"Try teasing him." I finally told Roy. "Especially about his height. That always sets him off.

He raised an eyebrow. "I have a couple times, but it seems to just upset him."

I shook my head. "Trust me, he enjoys it. He's kinda weird like that."

"Hm." Roy raised both eyebrows in surprise. "I guess I'll try that then."

I smiled warmly at him. "Oh!" I added. "and if he ever counteracts with an insult of some sort, don't worry, he doesn't mean it. It's like a game to him: teasing and insults."

"Really?" He asked, interested in Ed's strange games.

"Mmmhmm." I nodded.

"Interesting…" He murmured.

"Hey! You guys!" Edward came running over to us. "Let's go to the pond!"

"Alright."

"Okay."

"And maybe we can watch the sunset…" He added, looking at his shoes.

"Sounds nice." Roy said. "And the best part is," He whispered in Ed's ear. "I won't have to worry about you blocking my view." He smirked.

Edward's mouth fell open in disbelief, but he quickly recovered. "Who are you callin' so small they'd fall in a crack in the sidewalk and never be able to get out?!"

"You of course." Roy answered, walking in the direction of the pond.

Edward growled and began marching after him. "I wouldn't be talking Useless!"

Roy laughed out loud. "Useless?" I scratched my head. Ed's insults probably wouldn't be too accurate for a while. At least until he got to find some flaws in this Roy.

"If I were useless could I do this?"

"Do wha-eeep!"

Roy grabbed Edward and picked him up, placing him on his shoulders. (A/N: yes, I know. This is probably not humanly possible unless Roy is uber strong and Ed is uber light. But just go with it.) Edward laughed and stuck out his arms like he was flying.

"Don't let me fall off, okay?" Ed asked.

"I'll try." Roy told him.

Edward had climbed up on the stone wall surrounding the pond in the middle of the park. He stood on the wall and started walking along on it, Roy by his side on the ground. I sat, legs dangling off the edge of the wall, and watched them.

"You still good?" Roy asked.

"Yeah. This is a piece of cake!" Edward replied, watching where he stepped. "I just gotta make sure not to step in the holes where the missing stones were…waaaah!"

The top of a stone Brother had stepped on crumbled, throwing him off balance. He flailed his arms about trying his best to keep from falling into the water. And he didn't thanks to Roy who grabbed onto his legs, keeping him steady.

"You alright?" Roy questioned, looking up at Ed.

Brother laughed nervously. "Yeah…Thanks."

"No problem."

"…uhm…Roy?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let go of me now." Ed turned red and so did Roy once he noticed he was still holding onto Edward. I laughed.

The two walked the perimeter of the pond and by the time they had made it back to me, the sun was beginning to set.

"Isn't it amazing?" Ed asked. It was a rhetorical question, but I nodded in agreement anyway.

I watched as the deep blue sky gradually turned orange. Clouds began to look pink and purple rather than white. All the colors slightly blending together was simply beautiful. I didn't think there was anything that could quite compare to it. I glanced over at Brother who, along with Roy, had plopped down on the stone wall. Roy slid his arm around Nii-san who leaned into him without hesitation. I smiled as I noted Ed's legs kicking happily.

"I'm gonna go pack up." I muttered more to myself than the others. I sung my legs over the wall and hopped off on the other side.

"Oh! Hey, I'll help!" Brother jumped to his feet, holding onto Roy's hand. He pulled Roy from his place on the stone wall. "I'm sure Roy will too." He smiled up at the dark haired man who returned the gesture.

Ed took a step forward and suddenly began falling backwards. He let out a cry as he plunged towards the water, yanking Roy along with him.

"No! Don't-."

_Ker-Splash!_

"…Oops." Brother laughed nervously, pulling a twig out of Roy's black hair.

They both sat, bottoms in the murky water, with mud splattered all over their bodies and all the various things floating about in the water stuck in their hair.

"You really didn't need to bring me down with you." Roy said flatly.

Brother grimaced apologetically, but defended his actions with, "But where's the fun in that?" He playfully splashed Roy. Roy splashed him back and to retaliate, Ed grabbed a handful of mud and threw it at him.

"So that's how you wanna play the game, eh?" Roy smirked as he plopped a pile of mud on Brother's head.

Edward gasped, but soon he was laughing and tackling Roy into the water even more.

I continued on my way to clean up; their shouts and cries ringing out in the background. After packing up, I started home, only looking back at the two playing in the pond once I had reached the park gate. I chuckled to myself and continued on.

A couple blocks up the road, I spotted a flyer hanging from a telephone pole. I stopped walking to read it. That's when I got an idea. I tore the flyer off the pole and stuffed it into my pocket knowing exactly where Brother, Roy and I were going this Thursday.

**Wow...the only history-ish thing in this one is about the Frisbee...huh. Well, Frisbee was invented in the 1800s by (no one knows who exactly) people throwing around a Frisbee's Pie Tin. There you have it, lol.  
So I kinda noticed that my alt!Roy has changed a bit...he was more like the Colonel in the begining (err...supposed to be anyway) and now he's kinda different. -shrugs- Slow character development I suppose.  
Well, I hope this chapter didn't bore you guys! I'll try my best to work on the next one! reviews are greatly appreciated!**


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